Rhino 5 OS X - new WIP release

A new Work In Progress (WIP) build of Rhino 5 for OS X is now available.  This Mac build is up-to-date with the Windows build.  There is a new Windows WIP release every week or so and an updated Mac Rhino WIP will be released shortly after each Windows release. 

You can download the Wenatchee 5 2011-01-10 build here.

The Mac V5 Rhino version supports 64-bit Intel, 32-bit Intel, and 32-bit PowerPC architectures. This Mac version will automatically run in 64-bit mode on Core 2 Duo Intel processors or later, so running out of memory should no longer be a problem. It requires OS X 10.5 (Leopard) or later.

Rhino OS X now also has most of the V5 improvements that are in the Windows version, such as:

• better stability
• many command enhancements
• faster drawing speeds
• display enhancements
• new commands
• new editing tools such as gumball

This build has many bug fixes and minor enhancements.

Everyone is invited to download and use the OS X version of Rhino while it is in development.

Most of the core functionality has been ported from Windows and is very stable. There is still much to do to port the rest of the functionality and refine the interface.

We don't expect the first commercial release to be ready until next year. Don't worry if the build you are using is about to expire. New versions will be available every week or so. There will be a newer one available before the expiration date.

Details and download...

EvoluteTools Introductory Promotion ends Jan 31.

Designing and optimizing planer panel layouts on free-form buildings for fabrication is made easy in Rhino using EvoluteTools.

The Planarization Module to optimize freeform panelisations for planar panels is one of the tools in the EvoluteTools Rhino plug-in suite. Check out the all available features and modules.

Take advantage of the Introductory Price until January 31 2011.

More details, eval download, pricing, case studies...

RhinoPython at CCA

Dr. Walter Kim is teaching a geometry course at CCA using RhinoPython.

He has posted the course materials online and would be delighted to get your feedback.

Details...

Rhino SDK goes open source

All of our business strategies are based on being open. OpenNURBS, our first open source code initiative, provides access to the native Rhino 3DM file format without restriction or royalties. Our latest open initiatives are RhinoCommon, Rhino 5’s new cross-platform SDK, our support of the Windows.Forms extension to the MonoMac project, .NET UI for the Mac, and Rhino 5’s RhinoPython libraries.

We have just placed RhinoCommon, the C# portion of Rhino 5’s new cross-platform SDK, on github.

Our goals for making RhinoCommon open source are:

1. Helping Rhino plug-in developers write better plug-ins because they can trace into the source to see what is going on inside the RhinoCommon SDK
2. Developers can report bugs in RhinoCommon source
3. More eyes to scrutinize our code that will provide more detailed feedback on where it can be improved
4. Help from the developer community from those that want to add code, documentation, or samples

To take advantage of the open source RhinoCommon, Rhino 5 developers are invited to simply:

1. Download and compile the RhinoCommon project
2. Rename the shipping RhinoCommon.dll to RhinoCommon.dll.original
3. Place the RhinoCommon.dll and pdb that they just compiled in the Rhino 5 system directory

MonoMac.Windows.Forms provides developers with the tools to develop and compile a .NET project including UI on Windows Rhino 5 and have it run without a recompile on the Mac Rhino 5. Anyone interested in contributing to the early development of the MonoMac.Windows.Forms project can find it here.

The RhinoPython libraries with source code are included with Rhino 5 on both Windows and the Mac. The libraries provide hundreds of Python functions that give Python developers easy access to Rhino’s most complex SDK functions. Anyone interested in contributing to the RhinoPython libraries project can find it here.

Open Source – an obsession or a passion?
For some “Open Source” is an obsession, but at McNeel “Open Source” (or more accurately “Open”) is a passion. The feedback we get from sharing at every opportunity excites and inspires us. It is the feedback from others that provides the clarity of purpose behind everything that we do.

Apomechanes book

This book presents the projects designed and fabricated during the apomechanes computational design studio in 2009 and 2010, supported by theoretical articles and professional projects by Karl Chu, Carla Leitao, Kokkugia and Ahylo, exploring computational design and its fields of materialization.

Apomechanes is an international intensive studio held each summer in Athens, Greece. The studio is devoted to furthering techniques and concepts of algorithmic processes as means for design and fabrication.

Algorithmic design introduces processes that allow the genetic growth of complex structures and forms by using simple syntactic rules. Apomechanes is an attempt to set up a unique agenda on computational design methodologies and underline the morphogenetic qualitative characteristics of the algorithmic logic. Non-linear, self-organized and emergent behaviors are intravenously injected into the core of the architectural design process, and the focus is on the inherent potential of computation to generate space.

All the projects were done using RhinoScript. You can find examples of the code in the book.

Details (English)...
Details (Greek)...

Authorized RhinoFabLab™ program launched

What is an Authorized RhinoFabLab?

An Authorized RhinoFabLab™ (fabrication laboratory) is a small-scale digital workshop, certified by McNeel, with an array of Rhino and Rhino compatible software and computer controlled tools and training. These tools cover the various leading-edge industrial methods and materials needed to design, analyze, and fabricate almost anything. A RhinoFabLab's primary mission is to share the world's digital fabrication expertise in their local community.

An Authorized RhinoFabLab also:

• Is recognized as a leading-edge provider of industrial grade digital design, analysis, and fabrication expertise.
• Has all of their events and activities published to a worldwide audience.
• Has worldwide access to the specialty experts in every aspect of digital design, analysis, and fabrication.
• Has direct access with many of the digital design, analysis, and fabrication product development teams.

Becoming an Authorized RhinoFabLab

All Rhino ARTs and ARTCs encouraged to apply. Details here...

Join the RhinoFabLab community

The RhinoFabLab community is a place to share, learn and teach different methods of fabrication for industrial designers, jewelers, architects, and engineers when Rhinoceros is involved in any phase of the design and manufacturing/construction process. It is also a great place to share information about digital fabrication hardware, digital models and Grasshopper definitions.

RhinoFabLab is open to everyone and encourages discussions about any Rhino compatible software and hardware that helps you realize your ideas.

Andres Gonzalez, in the McNeel Miami office, is your host.

Visit www.RhinoFabLab.com

Digital Fabrication course in Venice, CA

Authorized Rhino Training Center, Ilan Dei Studio, is offering a Digital Fabrication with Furniture Making course.

Dates: March 4-5
Location: Venice, CA
To register, contact Ilan or call (310) 302-9222.
Cost: $450

The two-day course will be an introduction into digital fabrication using furniture making as an example. Exploring a classic chair design as part of the curriculum the workshop will cover the steps of precision modeling for fabrication, nesting for CNC cutting, and techniques of cutting chair parts out using custom jigs. The software used will be Rhino, RhinoCAM, Partworks, and ShopBot Control Software.

Prerequisite: Each participant should have a basic working knowledge of Rhino.

Details...

Rhino jobs...

Several new opportunities have been posted on our Rhino Jobs board. Take a look...

• CadBlu Inc is looking for a RhinoGold Salesman/Trainer.
  Location: New York, NY
  Contact: Lucy Trevino
• Belco Group is seeking an independent 3D Designer for RC car modeling.
  Location: Belgium
  Contact: John
• tecDESIGN is looking for an individual or company to provide architectural renderings.
  Location: Los Angeles, CA
  Contact: Shawn Keltner
• Fair Trails Enterprises is looking for an experienced Rhino modeler interested in contract work.
  Location: Roseville, CA
  Contact: Richard Wallace
• Forida Limited is looking for Application Engineer with Rhino and Grasshopper experience.
  Location: Hong Kong
  Contact: Kenneth Lau
• ASK Gold Inc is seeking a full-time CAD/CAM designer with jewelry experience.
  Location: Los Angeles, CA
  Contact: Michael

More...

VisualARQ 1.2

VisualARQ 1.2 is now available to download. This is a free service release for all VisualARQ users.

VisualARQ 1.2 fixes all known bugs. There are also a number of enhancements, including:

• Beam object (video)
• Context help
• IFC 2×3 export (information)
• Per object plan visibility

See the complete what’s new.

If you are a VisualARQ user, download VisualARQ 1.2.

If you are an evaluation user, download the new evaluation version to test the new features.

UDM for Rhino

The User Data Manager (UDM) plugin for Rhinoceros 4 provides easy management of any object data stored as an object's attributes. For example, you can use it to store any object properties (material, color...) and filter your objects for selection.

Details and download...

Mediated Matter by Neri Oxman, Monday

Neri Oxman is speaking about her work in the Mediated Matter research group.
Date: Monday January 24, 2011 6:30
Where: Wood Auditorium, Avery Hall , GSAPP, Columbia University
Mediated Matter Event Details
Organised for Post Parametric 4

Neri Oxman Assistant Professor of Media Arts and Sciences at the MIT Media Lab where she directs the Mediated Matter research group. Her group explores how digital design and fabrication technologies mediate between matter and environment to radically transform design and construction.

Read more »

RhinoPython Workshop at MIT

Ari Kardasis and Masoud Akbarzadeh are offering a RhinoPython workshop at MIT for MIT and Harvard students from the 18th to 28th of January 2011. More details...

The workshop materials are available to everyone.

MIT and Harvard students can sign up by emailing.

User Meeting in Tel Aviv

RhinoSchool Israel, Authorized Rhino Reseller and Trainer, is pleased to announce the 1st Rhino User Meeting in Israel.

- When: January 25, 2011
- Where: Kavim Banamal (Tel Aviv Harbor)
- Contact: Amir Lipsicas

- Program:

• Modeling test case – Complex modeling – Amir Lipsicas, Product Designer.
• 3D Rendering – Inon Green, Product Designer and Animator.
• Integratiing Rhino with other softwares – Combining 3D models with live videos – Mr. Ken (Menachem) Altras
• Announce of the winners of the 1st "Designed by Rhino" competition by RhinoSchool Israel.
• Food and wine

Complete information (in Hebrew)...

2011 International CAD Conference and Exhibition (CAD’11)

CAD'11, the 2011 International CAD Conference and Exhibition, is to be held in the spectacular city of Taipei. The conference has keynote presentations, parallel paper sessions, product demonstrations, and several forms of exhibits.

CAD'11 is truly an international conference. We invite you to bring your research to this world audience by submitting and presenting a paper. Attendance at the conference will give you a first-hand opportunity to learn of the state-of-the-art in the world.

Details...

Interview with David

We often get asked about Grasshopper's background.

There is an interview with David Rutten on page 28 of the Italian MixExperience community's online magazine, tools numero 1, where David explains the development process and thinking behind Grasshopper.

Enjoy...

Rhino joins the Band

Amit Zoran of the MIT Media Lab has printed a fully-functional concert flute directly on an Objet Connex500 3D printer from his Rhino model.

Watch the video to see what he might try next:

More details...

River Restoration in Rhino and Grasshopper

In this video Javier Martinez Gaxiola, the Project Manager at Laboratorio de Habitats Bioéticos, shows the restoration of a River in Tuxtla Gutierrez, Chiapas in Southern México. In the project they used Grasshopper for the site analysis, form finding, and model optimization.

More details...

Arduino - connecting the physical and digital

This video documentary covers the history of Arduino, the tiny bit of hardware that connects physical and digital worlds.

The free FireFly plug-in for Grasshopper connects the Arduino with Grasshopper and Rhino.

Learn more...

Introduction to SectionTools Video Tutorial

In this video tutorial, you'll learn how to use SectionTools in Rhino. Create dynamic sections through your model and use them in your layouts.

More about SectionTools...

RhinoNest and T-Splines in Grasshopper

Besides the increasing number of Grasshopper add-ons, other popular plugins for Rhino are starting to make their technology available in Grasshopper. Follow the links to see some previews:

RhinoNest in Grasshopper

T-Splines in Grasshopper

Bau 2011 - Rieder fibre C plugin powered by Evolute

The Rieder fibre C plugin for Rhino powered by Evolute aims at seamless integration of the fibre C technology into your processes. The fibre C plugin will assist you in all stages from design to production:

• Analyze the quality and feasibility of your design with respect to the fibre C technology.
• Obtain a cost estimation.
• Manage and Track the fibre C panels production process by accessing up-to-date production information from Rieder directly via the fibre C plugin.

Evolute is looking forward to seeing you at the Rieder booth of the BAU building trade exposition 2011 in Munich and giving you a demo of the fibre C plugin prototype.

Looking for a challenge? Evolute is hiring!

Are you interested to join Evolute in their fascinating endeavor to revolutionize free-form architecture? Check out the job offers.

Smart Geometry 2011 workshops

The SmartGeometry Group is pleased to announce that the Workshop Application Process is now open.

The 2011 SmartGeometry Workshop is organised around the challenge ‘Building the Invisible’. SG 2011 explores how the incorporation of real world data challenges existing design thinking. The SG 2011 workshop aim is to create physical prototypes of design systems to be exhibited in the SG 2011 exhibition.

The SG 2011 workshop will be organized around Clusters. Clusters are hubs of expertise. They comprise of people, knowledge, tools, materials and machines. The Clusters provide a focus for workshop participants (approx. ten participants per cluster) working together, within a common framework. Clusters provide a forum for exchange of ideas, processes, and techniques and act as a catalyst for design resolution.

Clusters details and registration...

Vicenza Oro

Jan 15-20 - VICENZAORO, Vicenza (Italy)VICENZAORO First, the international exhibition of jewelry and gold ware that opens the jewelry world calendar year, will be held in Vicenza Fair January 15-20, 2011.

Come visit the following Rhino resellers and partners to learn more about jewelry design, prototyping, and manufacturing:

• Smart3D (Pavilion L - Stand 4111)
  Come see the new Rhino plug-ins StoneSetting and Smart3dPave.
• Prototek (Pavilion L - Stand 4118)
  Come see Rhinojewel, T-Splines and Pavetool.

Also, don't miss the meeting of the Italian user community mixexperience, taking place on January 15th from 14:30 to 15:30h at the Prototek booth (Pavilion L - Stand 4118).

Design Hub Barcelona workshops and conferences

Workshops and conferences at the DHUB (Design Hub Barcelona)

Jan-May 2011

As part of the "Fabrication Laboratory" exhibition at the DHUB (Design Hub Barcelona), McNeel Europe, TDM Solutions and latiendadelcad invite you to a series of workshops and conferences on 3D Modeling, Jewelry and Computational Design.

Details and registration (in Spanish)...

Integrated BIM, Ecotect and Oasys GSA through Grasshopper

Thomas Buseck has been working on shell design studies for a new airport in Innsbruck. Using the Grasshopper plug-ins from Geometry Gym and [uto]. He improved the structural efficiency and solar performance of the design options.

Read more...

Variable distribution of 3D Modules with PanelingTools

A new release of PanelingTools plug-in is now available for Rhino 4.0 SR8 and Rhino 5 WIP.

This release includes a redesign of the variable custom paneling of 3D modules when using "Mean" method. Morphing method now uses relative bounding box in order to generate more predictable intermediate modules across the paneling grid. In the V5 version of PanelingTools, new options are added to better control the matching of start and end patterns which includes control points, point sampling and compatibility check.

New release of SectionTools for Rhino 5

A new release of SectionTools plug-in is now available with the latest Rhino 5 WIP of January 5, 2011. You can find download instructions and documentation at SectionTools wiki page.

SectionTools is a dynamic sectioning plug-in from RhinoLabs to help generate and update 3D sections and their 2D layouts. The plug-in has editing, viewing and reporting tools to effectively manage big set of sections.

New in this release:

• Updated section creation commands to add section hint that consists of a cut line (with arrows pointing to section direction) and a text dot to indicate section name. The new section cut lines can now be used to select sections. All commands that require selecting sections were updated to support selecting sections directly by selecting cut lines or from a list.
• Added a new command "stEditSectionsHint" to edit, show and hide cut lines and text.
• Updated File I/O to save hint scale and hint display state to file. Files created with earlier versions should load just fine.
• Added UpdateSection command to update one section at a time.
• Changed stUpdate command name to stUpdateAllSections.
• Section clipping planes used to hide when updating sections. This is now fixed to retain their show/hide state.
• Updated dynamic feedback when creating sections.
• Fixed stMake2D when using extrusion objects.
• Fixed duplicate layout dot bug when calling layout command on existing layout.
• Fixed a bug when calling layout command on existing layout. It is used to delete objects other than section data.
• Made layout title dot locate at some distance from the layout instead of overlapping with the baseline.
• Fixed reporting bug when objects have no names. Rhino used to hang.
• Updated toolbars and manual and short clips in the SectionTools wiki page. Also added new short clip to show how to select sections interactively and edit them with "stEditSectionsHint".

Online training for marine designers

ProBoat E-Training is offering a new session of their Rhino 3D Modeling for Marine Designers course. Beginning on January 16th, this six-week course will be taught by Cliff Estes.

Register today to ensure your place in this informative and practical online course.

Details...

New Advanced Rhino Tutorial Video

InfiniteSkills has released a brand new Advanced Rhino Tutorial Video. It's available now on DVD.

About the video...
This Advanced Rhino Tutorial Video is the ultimate in comprehensive learning for the discerning professional. The training uses broadcast quality audio and video to deliver concise and informative training right to your desktop. The training comes complete with practical working files and presented via an intuitive, easy-to-use interface, allowing you to learn at your own pace. Take your skills to the next level!

Demo and download...

Smart3D at VicenzaOro

VICENZAORO First, the international exhibition of jewelry and goldware that opens the jewelry world calendar year, will be held in Vicenza Fair from January 15-20, 2011. VICENZAORO includes all the different aspects of the jewelry.

Come visit Smart3D (Pavilion L - Stand 4111) and learn more about the new Rhino plug-ins StoneSetting and Smart3dPavè.